Gun carriage having a cranked carriage axle



Dec. 11 1923.

E. SCHNEIDER GUN CARRIAGE HAVING A CRANKED CARRIAGE AXLE Filed April 30 1923 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 11 1923.

E. SCHNEIDER GUN CARRIAGE HAVING A CRANKED CARRIAGE AXLE Filed April 50 1925 Eye.

9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 11 1923.

E- SCHNEIDER GUN CARRIAGE HAVING A CRANKED CARRIAGE AXLE Filed April 30, 1923 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. I"!

E. SCHNEIDER GUN CARRIAGE HAVING A CRANKED CARRIAGE AXLE Filed April 30 1925 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 \&\\

Dec. 11 1923. 1,476,849

E. SCHNEIDER GUN- CARRIAGE HAVING A CRANKED CARRIAGE AXLE Filed April 50 1925 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 11 1923. 1,476,849

E. SCHNEIDER GUN CARRIAGE HAVING A CRANKED CARRIAGE AXLE Filed April 50 1925 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 Dec. 11 1923. 1,476,849

E. SCHNEIDER GUN CARRIAGE HAVING A CRANKED CARRIAGE AXLE Filed April 30, 1923 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 Dec. 11 1923. 1,476,849

E. SCHNEIDER GUN CARRIAGE HAVING A CRANKED CARRIAGE AXLE Filed April 30 1923 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 Dec. 11 1923. 1,476,849

E SCHNEIDER GUN CARRIAGE HAVING A CRANKED CARRIAGE AXLE Filed April 39 1923 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 .To. aZZw/lom it may concern:

Patented "Bee.- 1 1," 1923.

us r

EUGENE SCHNE DER, onPAnIs, FnANoEjAssIeNoRTo soEnnInnn'&"cIE.-,- gam rs;

' r l nemen, A Luann Join-r s'roonoomranr or relation;

A 7 GUN CARRiAGE HAVINGA mamas cannraen AXLE. 1

Application "file'a n 'rn so, 1923;

7 Be known that I EU ENE Somvnipnn, acitizen of'the Republic of France, residing atlParis,France have invented new: anduse- V ful Improvements in and Relating; to Gun Carriages' Having Cranked Carriage Axles, which invention is fullyr'setforth in the following specification; i i

l s is wellknown-theprovision of a carriage axle 1n wheeled'gun" carriages 1s chiefly designed to allow of raislng atwill the line oii fire; iLe; to theaxisofthe cradle 'trunnions, to a variable height abovef the ground fromhthe lowest position occupied by the trail body when firing in a horizontal lineh' or at low angles of elevation, whereas the trailbody'is raised into its highest posi tion for firing'at very high angles of elevation. a a I V .7

In the ordinary gun carriages of this type, a hand labour'manceuvre is required for efiecting the desired changes in the position of the carriage; axle, after which the usual a V gun;elevatlngmechanism' s operated; V

'With the object ofzsavingtime it has 7 already been proposed to perform these two manceuwes simultaneously by nieans of one and the, same hand-actuated nechanisin. That proposed procedure s however very faulty, because it, entails in addition to the' effort required to'be exerted for the purpose of elevating the gun, also the still very great effort which is required 4 for effecting, the -rotation of the carriage axle and raising the vreight of the gun andcarriage resting upon the said carriage axle; 1 I Y The; present invention has" now for its objectito provide an improved wheeled gun carriage (running on the usual road wheels,

or carried by an endless track) c having cranked carriage axle, in whichthe opera-' tionsof raising the height of the line or" fire V and elevating the gun are'efiected simultaneon-sly out 'by ineans of separate and inde pendent mechanisms. instead of one common mechanism as hit herto. ii

According to this inventionthe raising of the line of fire is 'efiected by means of a like. having as hereinafter described a three fold function; namely it serves as a motor for raising the" heightofjthe line/of fire, c

whilst; serving at the same timeas a counter balancei' ifor the: effort required' fer actuating the elevating mechanism; and

' along the line-Bx-Qof Figurel.

LFig'ure 3 is partialccross section taken motor ,such as a metali spring notor or the Serial No. 35,723.

carriage during transport? operation of the" elevating" mechanism is r it serves as an elasticsuspensionffor the. gun

nism. 'The spring motor is,]nirtl1er', sodssigned that when the engagement normallyp o d y m ns of :thei'elevating mechanl'sin 1s undone, the sprlngwill then act as an elastic suspension between the gun carriagef allCl-tllfi' wheeled axle or the endlesstrack truck. 1

V .Thelo wering'ofthe line Die eon; a" raised position ofthe latter, iseft'ected likewise Without effortby means of the improved apparatus,}since the ,efio-rt transmitted to the elevating mechanism by theiweight of the gun carriage; is'approximately counter balanced because the motor springs are grad:

ually compressed as the carriage-hxleis; "lowered. L we 1 Various practical einbodimentslof raisinvention are illustrated by way of example V 'infthe accompanying drawings 'in'which ;'Figures 1 to fiiillustrate afirst e nbodirnent of the invention.

"Figure '1 is alongitudinal elevation partly F in'section taken along the line,1 1 of Figure2. V

Figure '2' is a vertical cross 7 section along the'line 3-8 of Figure 1.7

Figure 4 is a partial-rear end elevation" showing the elevating mechanisinanduits engagement with the motor for raising the line of tire. In these four figures the car-- taken riage axle is shown with-its cranked portion A in the lowest position. I

Figure?) is a longitudinalelevation spartlfy 'l in section, showing the-cranked portionin its highest position, and the giuigbarrel' in" its position of greatest'elevationyani11-:

Figure 6 is a 'siinilar longitudinal? elevation partly in sectionpshowing Qthegun in,

condition"fortransportafter disen 'agement has been effected between the elevating,

' means of the handwheel J, the springs in position. These springs can expand only when the elevating mechanism is operated. If,- for the purpose'of elevating the gun, the elevating mechanism is operated are, by this veryfact, allowed to expand and produce a ro tational movement of the sleeve C by a longitudinal movement of the racks F This rotational movement, if the pinion G has been previously brought into mesh by means of the clutch I, causes a rotational movement of the toothed sector (hand, consequently, a rising movement of the sector H formed on the underside of the cradle, whilst'atthe same time the rotational movement of the sleeve C produces a rotational movement of the carriage axle A. From this, it will be perceived that the actuation of the elevating mechanism by hand is followed by an automatic actuation of the sector H that is to say, by a counterbalancing of the oscillatory mass and an automatic raising of the line of fire.

In order in any position of elevation, to prevent the sector H from having a tendency to carry the tubes F along by the action of the vertical component of the force exerted by the recoil brake, provision ismade for holding these tubes F by means of the gearing j, j is, the fork M and the nut L. This nut L is guided by a rib L in a groove e formed in the cylinder E. Consequently the tubes F can move only as a result of the rotation of the rod K, and this latter rotation can in its turn take place.

only when the elevating mechanism is being operated. In other words, any elevation of the gun barrel is followed instantly by an automatic expansion of the springs D, which expansion can take place only as a result of the movement of the nuts L. Inversely, the springs are prevented from expanding when, by reason of the stoppage of the operation of the elevating mechanism the nut L has been locked upon the screwthread K of the nod K. I a

For road transport, the parts are placed into the position shown in Figure 6 wherein; the horizontal portion of the carriage axle is situated practically in the horizontal axle plane of its journals. For this purpose the fork M is moved out of the way by operating the handwheel m in the requisite direction. The corresponding rod K is then able tomore freely in the longitudinal direction; in other words the springs D are quite free to expand or contract, care having been taken to move the pinion G out of mesh by sliding the clutch I in the requisite direction. 7

All shocks experienced by the road wheels or the endless tracks of the gun carriage are transmitted through the carriageaxle A and:

the pi-nionsC fixed to the sleeve C, to the racks F thereby causing compresslon of the springs D at each rising movement of the carriage axle. Inversely, a following descent of the carriage axle will have the result of causing the racks F to move 1n the opposite direction, and thus producing a corresponding expansion of the springs D.

It will thus be perceived that the springs -D have the three-fold function ascribed to them hereinbefore, namely :They act as a motor for raising automatically the height.

' nisons, and which serves both as an elevating sector and as a transmission member for the automatic actuating apparatus of the mechanisin for raising the height of the line of fire.

For this purpose the sector H meshes.

with a'pinion G mounted on an intermediate shaft N parallel to the axis of the carriage axle and journalled in the side frame plates of the gun carriage. N are fixed the two pinions C meshing with the racks F formed on the tubes F against the bottoms of which the springs D take their bearing. Except during road transp.ort, the pinion G is lockcd on the shaft N by means of a clutch I actuated as hereinafter described. The shaft N carries on one end a pinion C which is fixed to it and meshes withthe spur teeth 0 of one of the two toothed sectors of a disk of which. the other (having helical teeth 0) meshes with the worm j of the elevating mechanism j -j -j j actuated by means of the handwheel J. The disc O-O is arranged to rotate with the carriage axle A whilst being able to slide along it. The

mechanism for actuating the clutch I is so designed as'to effect at one and the same time the unlocking of the pinion G from its shaft N, and the unincshing of the worm 1' from the helical sector teeth 0. The combination J--jj is carried by a box P which is capable of swivellng around a pin 7) carried by one of the side frame plates of the gun carriage. The shaft j is journalled at one end in this box P, and at its other-end in oneend of a lever Q fulcrumed at g on a bracket B attached to one of the side plates of the gun carriage. The free end of the-lever Q-carries a nut Q gwork -m ing on a screw R which is journalledin a fixed support B? and can be actuatedflby.

means of a handwhe'ellyx- By turning the On this shaft 1 handwheel 1" in the requisite direction, the nut Q} is raised, andwith it the worm the shaft j of which swivels around the pin 39.

At the same time, by means of a forked lever I ,.the clutch sleeve I is moved-towards the left, thus releasing on one side the pinion. G, andon the other, the sector 0, whereby, as

in the preceding example, the springs D are allowed to act as an elastic suspension for the gun carriage during road transport.

In the embodiment illustrated in-Figs. 10 to 12 inclusive, the cylinders E, in which work the tubes F serving as abutments :tor

one end of the motor springs D, instead of being fixed to the gun carriage, are sup' a toothed sector G. meshing with a toothed the toothed sector H sectorH formed on the underside of the carriage cradle h, as in the example shown in Figures 1 to 6. The sector G is normally locked withthe carriage axleA by means ofa clutch I. The hand-actuated elevating mechanism comprises the handwheel J whose motion is transmitted through a worm j to a worm wheel j fixed on a shaft j journalled in aside frame plate of the gun carriage, and carrying two bevel pinions 7' j. The pinion j meshes with a pinion j fixed on a shaft j -carrying the gun-elevating pinion meshes with a pinion C fixed to the toothed sector C It will be perceived that g sector G is in engagement, the handwheel J be actuated in the requisite direction, the transmissionterminating in the gun-elevat ing sector H will thus be operated by hand by means of the pinion j, and at the same time the motor springs D are rendered free to exert their automatic effort which is transmitted through the sector F to the sector C and through the latter to the carriage axle A and to the sector G which is in'mesh with the sector H As in the foregoing examples, there is produced In this manner automatically a raising of the hei ht ofthe line of fire at the same timeas a cou'nterbalancing of the oscillating.

mass by-the handfactuation of the elevating mechanism. 'Always as .in the foregoing examples the unlocking of the sector G allows'the springs D to act as anelastic suspension between thecarriage axle and'the oscillating mass during road transport.

Having now-particularly described and 7' which. meshes with The pinion j if whilst the resilient means inefi'ective for rotating said axle.

2. A gun carriage of the type described I comprising, in combination, a crankedaxle, a springmotor for rotating said axle, elevatingineans for rendering said motor effective, and means for. rendering said motor effective as an elastic suspension for said carriage on said axle during road transport.

A gun carriage of the type described comprising, in combination, a cranked axle, a spring motor for rotating said axle and for counterbalancing the oscillating mass of said carriage, elevating mechanism for rendering said vmotor ellective to rotate said axle, and 'means for renderingsaidimotor inefl'ective to rotate said axle.

4. In a gun carriage of the type described,

the combination of a cranked axle, a cradle '70-- resilientmeans for rotating said axle, elevat ng niechanismfor rendering said means operative, and means for rendering said supported by said axle, a sector secured to said cradle, a rotatable member having engagement'with said sector, resilient means for rotating said member, a clutch interposed between said member and said re-v silient means, and elevating mechanism for rendering sald resilient means effective to rotate said member.

5.- In a gun carriage of the type described, the combination of a cranked axle, a cradle supported by said axle,a sector secured to said cradle, a gear rotatably mounted on said axle,- one or more spring motors for rotating said gear, a clutch interposed between said gear and said motor or motors, and elevating mechanism for rendering said motor or motors effective to rotate said gear.

'6. In a gun carriage of the type described, the combination of a cranked axle,a cradle supported by said axle, a sector secured to said cradle, a rotatable member having engagement with said sector, resilient means for simultaneously rotating said a'xlefand member, a clutch interposed between said resilient means and said member, and n ieans for preventing said resilient means from rotatin'g said axle and member. 7 a

7. A gun carriage of the type described comprising a cranked axle, a springmotou supported by said axle, a cradle supported by said axle, meansoperatively connecting said cradle and motor, and means for rendering said motor effective to simultane ously rotate said axle and tilt said cradle.

8. In a gun carriage of the type described,

the combination'of an axle, acradle mounted on said carriage, one or more cylinders secured t saidmnt age, be n ach of 1 saidcylinders, a resilient member in each of said tubes, a rack formed on each of said tubes, a sleeve journalled in said carriage,

a pinion fixed to said sleeve and having engagement with said rack, a sector mo-vably mounted on said sleeve, means for locking said sector to said sleeve, a second sector secured to said cradle and having engagement with said first-named sector, and elevating mechanism for rendering said spring efi'ective to simultaneously rotate said axle and tilt said cradle, and means for rendering said spring effective as a suspension for the carriage on said axle.

EUGENE SCHNEIDER.

Witnesses ANDRE MOSTICKER, LOUIS GARDET. 

